Mr. C. I. Orr-Ewingasked the Assistant Postmaster-General when the report of the Sports Television Advisory Committee was completed; and whether he will issue a statement on its conclusions.
§ Mr. GammansThe Sports Television Advisory Committee presented a first140W report in May, 1951. The following are quotations from what I consider to be its main conclusions:
The penetration of television into the section of the public which attends sporting events is at present very slight and this makes it extremely difficult to detect and measure the effects of televising sports events, or to forecast these effects when television is more widely developed.It follows that it will be necessary to continue our studies over a long period in order to assess the effects of an increased use of the television service and the way viewers change in behaviour with length of ownership of television sets.At this stage the only point on which we can be reasonably certain is that the televising of certain major events, such as the Football Cup final, results in reduced attendances at other sporting events held on the same day, and that this effect is more marked at minor sporting events.We draw attention to the harmful consequences of reduced gates at minor events. The less important clubs often operate on a slender financial margin, and this applies particularly to amateur organisations—so that any fall in attendance receipts may lead to a number of them having to close down. Apart from the entertainment thus denied to local supporters this is bad for sport as a whole, since the minor clubs form an important nursery for the development of sporting talent.